Psychotic Episode 5: Cleansing Flame Pt 1
by Glod
Summary: A fiery disaster planetside sends Jay down to do the hero thing...
1. Training

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU.

**Psychotic**

**Training**

Jay levitated within the simulation room, the hard light construct buildings towering around her. She kept her eyes open and her senses on full alert as she flew forward, waiting for the attack. Over the last three months she'd worked her way through most of the training programs of the Watchtower residents. Not that she had much teaching in the matter- Zatanna and Wildcat had offered to continue her training, but she hadn't trusted herself enough to accept. They were learning to live with each other, but it wasn't a process that would tolerate even the slightest hint of outside interference. So she snuck in at night when everyone else was sleeping, and slept during the day when the Watchtower was busy. It was really screwing with her sleep cycle, but at least she managed to avoid just about everyone most of the time. That suited her mood just fine these days.

Jay snapped her attention to a movement on the roof of a building to her right. She halted in midair, concentrating most of her attention on trying to pinpoint the source of the movement, but maintaining an awareness of everything else around her. The last three times she'd run this simulation of Supergirl's she'd concentrated too hard on something she'd thought she'd seen and been caught off guard to an attack from behind. She was determined it wouldn't happen again. Especially since if she could beat Supergirl's simulations, then the next one would be one of the founding seven's. Jay was pretty keen to see how she would fare in one of them.

Her skills had improved in proportion to the sheer number of hours she'd put into training. Considering the training area was one of three places she could be on the Watchtower, and the other two were the cafeteria, which she avoided, and her bedroom, which got boring quick, Jay had pretty much settled in for a long stay in the gym and associated training areas. There was always a room free, and always something to train on. Never anybody to train _with_ of course, which meant Jay's martial arts could still use some practice, but what she lacked in skill she made up for with brute force and a healthy dose of innovation.

_To the left. _

Jay whipped her head round just in time to throw up a force field to stop the mutated General Isling from slamming into her. Even with the momentum from his run up, the attack barely dented the forcefield. Jay almost casually flicked General Isling back, then whirled to throw up another shield against the laser vision of Galataea who was attacking from behind. Launching herself forward, Jay put some distance between her attackers and herself before twisting round to send her own bolts of indigo energy at the two villains.

_You ready?_

Jay nodded minutely, maintaining her backwards flight as she gathered her magic to herself, preparing to try her latest idea. Taking a deep breath, Jay stopped her flight, allowing the running General and Galataea to catch up to her. As expected, Galataea sped ahead of the General, her blue eyes taking on a red hue as she prepared to blast Jay into next week. Jay held her position, waiting for Galataea to get a little closer…

Just as Galataea released a red bolt aimed at Jay's heart, Jay twisted to the side. As the bolt skimmed past Jay, barely missing her, Jay threw out a lasso of purple magic which settled around Galataea as the Supergirl clone sped past. Pulling back on the line of magic, Jay used Galataea's momentum to twist the woman round and slam her into the oncoming General who, just as Jay had hoped, was in perfect position to get the full force of Galataea thrown into him as Jay released her hold on the clone.

To Jay's eternal satisfaction, they both went sprawling into the nearest building which obligingly collapsed on top of them.

The simulation phased out and returned the room to its standard silver dome. Jay smiled contentedly to herself as she settled down to the ground, breathing hard from the exertion. It had taken her the better part of an hour to beat this simulation, which wasn't ideal, but at least she hadn't lost this time.

_And hey, we are a lot better these days! I mean come on- we're beating _Supergirl_'s simulations. That's got to mean we're about as good, right?_

Jay grunted. While theoretically beating Supergirl's simulations did put Jay on an equal footing with the alien girl, Jay knew training didn't replace real world experience, something she had deplorably little of.

_Oh stop being a party-pooper. Be happy for us, even just a little bit. Thanks to Psychotic, we're _reliably _wielding huge amounts of magic these days._

_I could use more?_

Jay felt a frisson of unease at Psychotic's voice joining in the mental conversation. Over the last three months they'd gradually gotten to know Psychotic better, but it was still a little weird having another person in her head. It was something that took a lot of getting used to, and both Jay's were still marginally uneasy in Psychotic's presence, especially since she had a very formidable intensity and almost no sense of humour. It didn't help that Jay's other self loved ribbing Psychotic and driving her crazy.

_That's hardly my fault. She's just so _easy_ to annoy!_

_I am only easy to annoy because you are so irritating. _

There was no such thing as a two way conversation any more. Psychotic was usually listening in, and Jay could understand that. Psychotic had spent years hiding away, unable to make herself known. They'd slowly figured out why: Psychotic had a very strong link to the magic. Letting her out meant releasing their power, so when Jay had locked that part of her away, she'd put Psychotic behind an almost insurmountable wall.

Up till now, the only way Psychotic had been able to break through was using Jay's emotions against her. It was usually anger, so when Psychotic broke through, she was more often than not completely furious and totally out of control. But both Jay's quickly learnt that though Psychotic had the greatest potential for strong emotion, it was in the same way that the magic responded to emotion: a useful tool for increasing power. For the most part Psychotic was the most unemotional of the three of them. Her biggest drive was curiosity. She was always asking about the daily things in life that the Jay's took for granted: why brushing your teeth was necessary, why the sun shone, how the world turned. It usually fell to sensible Jay to answer her questions, since the other Jay had little to no patience for such dull topics.

What killed the other Jay was Psychotic's total lack of humour. For a personality that loved the fun things in life, having a part of herself that wouldn't even crack a smile for the world's greatest comedian was almost painful. As a result there was a constant stream of teasing going on in the back of Jay's mind. Jay didn't think Psychotic minded all that much, though she did occasionally snap back. At least it was communication, which was Psychotic's lifeblood. Years alone, being kept separate from the world, meant Psychotic would happily engage in any kind of human interaction.

Plus, Jay was pretty sure Psychotic knew how much she was irritating the other Jay just by being so impassive. It was the ultimate payback.

But the most satisfying thing, and part of the reason Jay didn't mind the hours they spent training in the gym and simulation room, was how well they fought when they worked together. Jay's other self had the most incredible senses, picking up movements and clues where Jay herself would sense nothing. It also made the other Jay a natural with martial arts, being able to react almost before the attack. Psychotic, being so intricately tied to their magic, could wield it with incredible precision at huge power levels. And Jay herself turned out to be absolutely brilliant at putting it all together, setting strategies and creating tactics that used all her formidable powers. The other Jay would control the body movements and the senses, keeping everything on alert. Psychotic would center herself with the magic and stand by for orders. And sensible Jay would act as relay, giving orders and forming plans that were carried out instantaneously. The advantage of being in the same head made communication possible at thought speed. It was the closest they ever came to being just one person.

_And you're not proud of us because..? _

_Jay has a valid point. We have achieved much. _

Jay nearly collapsed from the surprise of having those two bickering voices in her head actually agreeing on something. It was so unusual, it deserved to be repeated!

_I can't believe you two are agreeing on something!_

_Oh shut up. We are the same person. There have to be some similarities! They're hard to find, but they're there!_

Psychotic made an unladylike snort in response. Jay smiled as she heard it.

On that amusing note, Jay picked herself up off the floor with a groan. She was still breathing hard from the exertion, and the night was still young.

_Oh come on! PLEASE can we take a break? We've done this simulation five times already, how much more do you want?_

_I want to be the best._

_We all wish for that, Jay. But I too would not mind a break._

_See? PSYCHOTIC wants a break and she's… well… PSYCHOTIC! What does that make you? _

_I truly resent that, Jay. _

_Come on! Just one night off! One night, that's all I'm asking! One night of fun, relaxation and rejuvenation and we'll come back tomorrow and do ten times as well! _

Jay smiled humorlessly. She'd run the simulation four times last night, barely finishing her last try before the first booked morning session was due to start. She'd actually had to walk halls that were beginning to fill up for the first time in over a month because she'd been so determined to win. She'd actually had to walk because she'd drained her magic so thoroughly. And then she'd still had to get up in time to grab some lunch and make it back to the gym in time to train in the room she'd booked for that afternoon. Another dinner on the fly and she'd come right back to the simulation as soon as the last booked training session of the day was over. She was absolutely shattered, and truth be told, a night off sounded like heaven. She hadn't had one in about three months.

_Fine. One night off. _

Jay's other self dissolved into whoops of delight and joy. If she'd had the body, she'd have been jumping for the absolute joy of it. Even Psychotic seemed a little happier for the concession, and heaven knew Psychotic was almost as dedicated to training as Jay.

_So, what do you want to do?_

This brought Jay's other self up short.

_Actually, I have no idea. I didn't think you'd ever say yes. _

_May I suggest something? These DVDs you always speak of? May we watch one? _

_Oh! BRILLIANT plan Psych, my friend! Movie night! _

Jay stretched, and left the simulation room, locking up as she went. She gave her answer out loud. "Movie night it is then, girls!"


	2. Fire

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU.

**Psychotic**

**Fire**

"I _really_ don't think this is a good idea…" Jay mumbled to herself in trepidation as she sidled along the corridor to the main control room. "We're not supposed to be here!"

_Oh hush! It's been months! I bet they've forgotten by now!_

"You know, I really don't think they have!" Jay whispered. Her heart was pounding, sweat was forming on her brow and she really did not want to be where she was right now, slowly inching her way towards the control room.

_Is it such a bad thing, to ask someone for a DVD? _

Psychotic's voice held its customary note of curiosity as it sounded through Jay's mind. Psychotic couldn't understand what the big deal was, but then she also didn't really understand the terms and conditions Jay was under. As Psychotic put it "We can take care of ourselves. What do we need this Justice League for?" For someone who was obsessed with acceptance, she was sometimes really contradictory.

_I am no such thing._

_Yeah right, and pigs fly._

_Do they?_

Jay couldn't help but grunt in amusement, which at least had the advantage of relaxing her a little. The problem with their great movie night plan had turned out to be that they did not in fact own any DVDs. After a lot of nagging from the voices in her head, Jay had agreed to go check if anyone was in the canteen so they could borrow a DVD from them. No such luck. Food had stopped being served an hour before they even got there, so the room had been deserted. This left one place where there was surely at least one person: the night watch in the control room.

"But we're not _allowed_ in there!" Jay moaned piteously under her breath as she stopped on the other side of the large corridor from the control room doors. She still wasn't close enough for them to sense her and swish open, but just the idea of going in was terrifying her. What would they do if she broke a rule? She was already on major probation! And now she had even more voices in her head! She didn't even have a clue who it was in there! What if it was Superman? Superman didn't like her much…

_Superman? On NIGHT WATCH duty? I don't think so. _

Ok, so her other self had a valid point. Still…

_Perhaps a swift entry is the best course? To… how do you say it? "Get it over with"? _

Ok, so Psychotic also had a point…

_Hello. Psychotic has a point? If Psychotic is being more sensible than you are, something's really off!_

_I truly resent that. _

Jay gathered her courage, straightened up, and strode into the control room.

---

Flash flicked a piece of lint across the room, trying to work up enough speed in his finger to really give it momentum. It was a pretty pointless exercise seeing as how he couldn't actually see where the lint came down, but it kind of occupied the time. He hated night watch, and he wasn't even entirely certain why he was even on it. Leaning forward he dialed for Batman.

"Is this important Flash?" Batman's testy voice answered on the first ring.

"I'm fine, thanks Bats! How are you?" Flash answered with mild sarcasm.

"Get to the point." Batman replied, a note of weariness creeping in.

"Bats, how come I'm on Night Watch?"

"It's a roster, Flash. Everyone gets a turn." Batman replied.

"_You_'_re_ never on night watch." Flash pointed out.

Batman glared through the vidcom. "Do you want to reconsider that statement?"

"Uh… ok." Flash grinned sheepishly as Batman cut the link.

Well, that didn't go exactly as planned. Maybe if he called Superman… Flash was pretty sure Superman was never on night watch! As he leaned forward to type in the codes that would connect him to Supes' communicator, the doors behind him swished open.

Flash twisted round in the swivel chair to see who it was.

His mouth dropped open in surprise, and not a little concern.

---

Jay couldn't believe her eyes. The _Flash_? What kind of twisted, sick sense of humour would put the _Flash_ on night watch tonight? Jay could feel the anger boil below the surface, a cauldron of hurt rising up instinctively as soon as she saw Flash.

_Hey, keep a lid on it! _

Jay's other self turned on her, forcing a wall around the anger. The litany of calming words began in Jay's mind.

_Calm down. We've been through this over and over again, there is absolutely no reason for all this anger. It's ridiculous, and it's dangerous and you have to get some control! _

Jay hesitated, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before twisting on her heel to get herself out of danger.

She only got halfway round before her body stopped itself mid twirl. "Oh no you don't!" Jay's other self said out loud, twisting their body right back round to face a really surprised Flash. "You go get what we came here for!"

_Indeed Jay. I fail to understand your dislike. And I would really like to see one of these DVDs. _

Oh great, now Psychotic was telling her off.

In the oddest movement Flash had ever seen, Jay pushed herself forward one step. Her eyes darkened and she lost some of the confidence she'd had a second ago as she took a second, much more cautious step.

"Uh… can I help you?" Flash finally managed to find his voice, though it came out a lot squeakier than he'd intended. He cleared his throat in as manfully a way as he could.

_See? The guy is sweet. Why would you be angry at him? _

"I… I know I'm not supposed to be here." Jay stammered slightly, hating that she did but trying to tell herself that this was all ok. Flash was ok. She was ok. Everything was ok. While she was thinking about it, she rather hated the word 'ok'. "I just came to… um…"

Flash took pity on her. "Hey, relax. I think the restrictions are stupid, anyway. As long as you promise not to kill me, it's all good!" He gave a nervous laugh.

_And he is so HOT. _

_You are incorrigible. _

"Well, actually - " Jay never got to finish her sentence. Before she got another word out, the alarms went crazy. Flash's attention snapped directly to the screen as he zipped over and hit 'accept' for the communication that was coming in.

Wonder Woman came up on screen. Behind her raged an inferno, spanning the entire view of the screen. It was impossible to tell where she was, only that it was on fire.

"Flash, I need help here! We've got a fire taking out half the forest! I'm sending co-ordinates now. I need trackers- there are campers in there and we need to get them out! Firefighters can't handle it, it's too big!"

"Uh, yeah, I'll send… I'll send…" Flash looked frantically at the control panels, not sure what to do. This wasn't his forte. He could help, but he'd need someone to take over here. He had no idea who'd be most useful in the situation or how to contact them most efficiently… this was J'onn's job!

"I'll contact Superman and transport him there. You get to the transporter now, I'll send you there." Jay's voice from behind Flash sounded a little odd. Turning, he stepped back at the sight that greeted him. Jay levitated a few inches from the floor. She was surrounded in a barely noticeable lilac fire, her attention focused on the video. Her eyes… her eyes were the strangest of all. Three concentric rings: purple, amber, and dark honey surrounding the pupil. Her voice was layered- three voices coming from the same mouth. It was impossible.

It actually looked pretty cool.

"Uh, I don't think leaving you in charge is…" Flash never finished the sentence. She turned a fierce glare on him, the lavender flames growing around her.

"Go." She repeated. "I will take care of things here."

Flash decided that dealing with Superman later for leaving her here alone was way easier than arguing with a clinically insane, super powerful woman now. With a shrug he sped over to the transporter. In seconds he was gone.


	3. Action

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League/ JLU.

**Psychotic**

**Action**

_There has to be something we can call ourselves when we're like this._

_We're Jay all the rest of the time. Everybody already knows us as Psychotic. Perhaps we could use my name? _

_Um, guys? Hello? Concentrate!_

It was a team effort. Psychotic held the magic, using it to flick controls, enter co-ordinates, bring up satellite images on screen. Part of Jay absorbed the information, taking note of details, highlighting areas of concern. The other Jay stepped back from her body's senses, and just concentrated on collecting all the data and making a working plan.

_Bring up Superman on com._

"I hear you." Superman's confident voice rang out through the control room.

_Make the voice sound like Flash. _

"Forest fire. We need you there immediately." Psychotic answered, her voice strikingly similar to Flash's.

_Magic is a wonderful thing._

_Yes it is. _

"I'll be there in two minutes."

"Wonder Woman is already there. Contact her for details." Psychotic added.

There was a small hesitation from Superman, as if he sensed something wasn't right.

_Dammit! We have Flash's voice, but we're using bigger words than I think he even knows! Oops. _

Luckily Superman seemed to have his mind mostly on the immediate job, and cut communications without saying anything.

_Ok, girls. Our chance- let's not waste it!_

They brought up the satellite images from all the satellites in position, using the Justice League connections to bring up scans of the area. Running heat scans to search for human life was pointless- the heat from the fires was blanking out any other signals.

_What else? How else can we find whoever's still stuck in there?_

A cyclone of water twisted its way across the fire, putting out a significant chunk of it. Flash on the job. Superman arrived on the scene and started using ice breath to good effect. Wonder Woman was still on the search for missing people. She'd never find them all in time scanning the whole forest inch by inch.

_What else can this stupid computer scan for? Brain waves?_

_At this distance? Probably not, but set it going while we think. _

A few controls, a scan for brain activity channeled through a satellite… yeah, nothing.

_What did we expect? What else? Think. _

They seemed to have most of the fire sorted by now. Flash had brought in another cyclone of water which he'd dumped all over, and Superman was working his way through. Wonder Woman had even found a few of the people stuck in there. They seemed to be ok. If it kept up like this, there wouldn't be a need to find people; the fire would be out before anyone else could get hurt.

A small flicker in the corner of the screens caught their attention. On the other side of the forest… another fire, starting up, and already beginning to blaze. Psychotic opened a com link.

"Flash! Someone's starting more fires!"

"What? You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Psychotic snapped in her multi-layered voice, irritation evident in all three. "Send Wonder Woman to find out what's up!"

Psychotic cut the link, and watched. Wonder Woman flew into the area as they brought the new fire into focus on the satellite image.

_More. Get closer. Find out who's behind this._

They leaned forward, using all their senses, trying to see something out of the ordinary-

_There!_ _Some nut job with a flame thrower- where do these people come from? How'd he even get away from the first fire? _

They automatically went to open a link to Wonder Woman.

_Wait. She doesn't know it's us. She's already seen Flash, she'd never believe we're him. She probably already has questions about how Flash knew about this second fire…_

Whoever it was, they were already on the move. One of those four wheel drive, all terrain cars heading north of where Wonder Woman was dealing with the new fire- by throwing sand at it. North, what was north.

_Pan the image up. Find out what's there._

Nothing.

_Expand the view. Look for anything unusual…_

_There. _

Three all terrain vehicles parked on a ridge overlooking most of the forest. The fourth was heading towards them, making its way up the road towards the other three. It arrived, they all turned and started moving west. Where on Earth were they going?

_Check west. Pan out, look for anything that might be there. The nearest city is hours away by car. Government records- anything en route? What could- _

_Government convoy of weapons, route to intercept the road the villains were taking. Superheroes focused on fires- _

It was a brilliant plan. Set up a huge forest fire, sure to catch the League's and the government's attention, then hijack the weapons while everyone was distracted and wouldn't be able to get to the convoy in time to help. Superman, Flash and Wonder Woman would be caught up for a while longer, and whoever they were, they were set to come across the convoy in another five minutes.

_North and further west- more vehicles converging on the convoy. _

_Scanning- they're armed to the teeth! But so's the convoy, how're they going to get all those weapons?_

Another scan, this time along the route of the convoy. There. Another group, in waiting. There had to be an easier way to get weapons, why go to all this fuss?

_Whatever the reason, we've got to get some help down there._

_Who? Who would take an order from us? _

_Who'd get there in time? _

_We could. _

Decision made, Psychotic set the coordinates and floated down to the transporter.

Ten seconds later, the control room was empty.


	4. Impulse

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Justice League/ JLU

**Psychotic**

**Impulse**

Jay levitated just above the tree line, using the topmost branches of the canopy to hide herself. She scanned the convoy route. In the distance to the North, the dust rose along the road as the convoy made its way to her position. If she was judging correctly from the satellite images she'd memorized at the Watchtower, she was positioned just before the area where the ambush was set up. As the convoy passed her she'd be able to float alongside it, still hidden from both ambushers and convoy. She'd thought about attacking the ambushers, but since there were groups in all directions she wouldn't be able to occupy all the attackers. Sticking with the convoy she could set up a defensive shield and protect it that way.

The first vehicle passed her. Jay was about to hover a little higher so she could see further in all directions when the sound of the chopper registered in her consciousness. She looked up- army helicopter. This was a really well defended convoy, what could be the point of attacking it? Surely the black market would be a far easier source of weaponry?

Jay flew forward, keeping level with the centre of the convoy. She kept her attention on staying hidden, and staying alert for attack. Her vision leapt from the forest ahead, to the forest across the road, to the trucks themselves…

The trucks. Right on the back, next to the bumper… what was that sticker? The ominous yellow and black sign of radioactivity flickered at her. They were transporting radioactive material in an army convoy…

_Oh crap. _

The gasp of horror went through Jay's mind, overlaid by Psychotic's confusion.

_Why is it a problem?_

_It's bigger than we thought. _Jay's other self obligingly took up the explanation. _This isn't just some standard weapons transport. They're transporting nuclear material, which means this is really important. _

"And we don't have a communicator to let anybody else know." Jay mumbled under her breath. "This could get messy."

Jay's heartbeat sped up as the adrenaline started to pound through her. They were seconds away from the ambush, and she still had no idea what the attackers were planning to do. There were three trucks in the convoy; all three had radioactive warning labels. They were surrounded by military hummers armed to the teeth and two helicopters providing air support. There were at least three groups of attackers converging, and Jay had no idea what the aim of the ambush was.

_Ok, listen up. Psychotic, whatever happens if those trucks seem in any danger of having their seals breached you get the strongest shield around them that you possibly can, ok? You've got to make sure nothing leaks in or out and that both we and any other person is on the _outside_ of the shield, ok? Just concentrate on doing that. Jay, you and I are going to do our level best to foil whatever those ambushers have planned! _

Jay got her ad hoc plan sorted just in time. She'd barely finished giving instructions before the first shot rang across the convoy. It came from ahead of the convoy, slightly to the right, and before she could think twice, at least three automatic machine guns were aimed in that direction and being fired. There was return fire, and before she could blink twice, she found herself off to the side of a raging battle.

_We have to help!_

_No! _Psychotic and Jay snapped the answer immediately. This was commonly a problem with Jay's other self- she let her emotions dictate her actions.

_This isn't the time or place for impulse. _Jay went on, with Psychotic radiating agreement. _The military can handle this. Keep your eyes out for anything unusual._

_What, more unusual than a gun battle in the middle of the forest? _

Jay ignored the sarcasm and tried to locate the ambushers. By now the hummers had pulled into a ring around the trucks, shooting outwards in a steady stream of bullets guaranteed to prevent infiltration. The convoy kept moving forwards, bullets ricocheting off the vehicles which were all thankfully bulletproof. So far nobody was hurt, that Jay could see.

_There. _Jay's other self focused their vision on a growing furrow in the ground swiftly forming a ring around the trucks, inside the military defense ring. _What is it? _

Psychotic took over. Directing a concentrated thread of magic to their retina, she adjusted their sight to pick up energy fluxes. The ring lit up like Rudolph's nose.

_Some kind of power, though I'm not sure what. _Psychotic clarified.

The ring was almost complete, and the nearer it came to closing, the more the energy intensified.

The ring closed, the energy started pulsing upwards.

_They're forming a dome! _

Jay acted on impulse. She ordered them forward, shooting into plain sight and past the ring to hover directly above the centre truck, just as the dome closed over her head.

_A shield of some sort. _Psychotic informed them as she sent a small pulse of magic against the barrier, only to have it repulsed. Soldiers were turning to watch her, shouting and pointing. They couldn't see the barrier that had formed. Before too many could get a good look at her, and to prevent the ambushers from realizing she was there, Jay dropped to the top of the truck and flattened herself there.

_Now what genius? _Jay's other self didn't bother to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. _I'm not allowed to act on impulse, but you can? _

_Oh shut up. _Jay answered, turning her concentration back to trying to figure out what was happening. The energy levels around her were increasing, the pressure in the air around her was rising. She felt like something was trying to squash her into the roof of the truck, the pressure making breathing difficult.

_I could put up a shield._

_It would let them know we're here. If it gets too much, go ahead, but we can handle this as it is. _

Suddenly, the world went white.

**To be continued...**


End file.
